APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MEASURING MODAL DISPERSION OF A MULTIMODE OPTICAL FIBER WITH INTER-MODAL INTERFERENCE

摘要

An apparatus and a method for measuring a mode dispersion of a multimodal optical fiber are provided to simplify a measuring process of the mode dispersion by using an inexpensive optical source and the multimodal optical fiber. An apparatus for measuring a mode dispersion of multimodal optical fiber includes an optical source(41), an excitation unit(42), a coupling unit(44), an optical detection unit(45) and a calculation unit(47). The optical source(41) generates an optical signal. The excitation unit(42) excites the optical signal, which is generated from the optical source(41), from the lowest mode to the highest mode simultaneously, and transmits the excited optical signal to the multimodal optical fiber. The coupling unit(44) couples the excited modes which penetrate the multimodal optical fiber. The optical detection unit(45) detects the coupled modes in the coupling unit(44). The calculation unit(47) calculates the highest value of relative time delay values among the coupled modes, which are detected by the optical detection unit(45), as the mode dispersion of the multimodal optical fiber.